Career
He became the nation"s first openly transgender mayor when he was elected as the mayor of Silverton, Oregon in November 2008. He had previously been elected twice in the 1990s as mayor of this Willamette Valley community, before coming out as transgender. He was assigned male at birth, prefers he/him pronouns, has breast implants, and dresses as a woman.
He sometimes goes by the name Carla Fong.
In 2013 a musical about Rasmussen, Stu for Silverton, premiered at Seattle"s Intiman Theatre. Rasmussen, a self-described fiscal conservative and social liberal, served as city councilor until January 2009.
Rasmussen has co-owned Silverton"s 1936 Palace Theater, which shows first-run movies, since 1974.
